Chapter 4: Diversionary Tactics
Neji Hyuuga sighed wearily. He had managed to get an invitation sent out to the Uchiha heir, that had been easy. He had also spoken with the Hokage, and in a conversation that seemed to be idle chit chat managed to convey to her what he was trying to do, and gained her support. That too had been relatively easy. The hard part was now currently bandaging his arm.
"Honestly, Neji, did you have to throw yourself in front of the shuriken?" Haruno Sakura asked. He didn't answer, knowing she didn't really expect one.
"Between you and Naruto, I'm going to have to put in a request for a leave of absence just to get my chakra levels back up," she muttered.
Now was his opportunity.
"Uzumaki is a good ninja, just reckless," he said, listening closely to her reply. It was time to stake out the target. Sakura sighed.
"I know," she said softly. Neji watched her closely, and noted the softened expression in her eyes and voice. That could be a good thing. Maybe she had already shifted her affections –
"He's just so annoying!" she growled, and Neji winced as she tightened the bandage too much.
And then again, maybe not.
"He can be amusing," he mused. Sakura readjusted the bandage while looking at Neji skeptically. Did he just compliment Naruto? Neji noticed her suspicious glance and changed tactics. Building Naruto up wasn't getting anywhere, better try talking him down.
"Though he is still an idiot," he said, putting all the cold disdain he could into his voice.
"He is a little dense, I mean, he doesn't even realize that Hinata has a crush on him," Sakura said. Neji sighed.
"Perhaps because the fool is blinded by you. Although, I don't blame you for not returning his affections. What my cousin sees in him is beyond me, he's so…ridiculous."
"Hey, now wait a minute," Sakura said, her green eyes flashing. Finally, Neji thought as he took in her sudden anger.
"Naruto is a GREAT guy, doing whatever he can to help the people he cares about. Yeah, he can be obnoxious, but he is loyal, strong, kind, honourable, and honest. Any girl would be lucky to have him," she finished defiantly.
"If this is so, then why don't you accept his attentions?" Neji asked. Sakura's mouth fell open in surprise. She snapped it shut and turned away from him to hide the blush spreading across her cheeks.
"Because…because I'm in love with Sasuke, that's why. It wouldn't be fair to Naruto, dating him when my heart belonged to someone else," she said, but Neji saw that she avoided his gaze, and her voice was not quite as strong as before.
"Are you sure?" he asked softly and left before she could question him.
He left the hospital, satisfied with the way the encounter had gone. He didn't think that he had managed to shift Sakura's affections, it was too early for that, but at least he had given her something to think about. That was a start. As for the other fangirl, Ino, Neji hadn't come up with anything yet. He could try to divert her affections to himself, if it came to that, but he'd really rather not.
Speaking of Ino, there she was, walking down the street with one of her teammates, the fat one, speaking a mile a minute. He immediately went into surveillance mode, trailing behind them close enough to hear the conversation, or at least Ino's half. It wasn't hard, as she was quite loud.
"…gone to the Sand village again. I swear, he asks for those missions. It's all because of that Temari chick. Ohhhh, I hate her, she always flirts with him, as if he's the greatest ninja in the world. Ha, as if, Sasuke-kun is soooooooooooooo much better looking, I mean, Shika-kun's got nothing on him. You know, we should do something about this," she declared.
"Do something about what?" Chouji asked confused.
"About Shika and Temari, of course. If we're not careful, she's going to lure him away from us for good. He'll join the Sand village, and then where will team ShikaInoCho be? He's your best friend too, Chouji, I know you'd miss him."
"Well, yeah, but if she makes him happy-"
"How can that harpy make him happy?" she screeched.
Neji stopped following them at this point, turning over the newly acquired information in his head. So Shikamaru and Temari, huh? That didn't bode well. Of course, he had noticed the Sand nin's interest in his fellow ninja, but Shikamaru always seemed more bored than anything, and had never really responded. Neji thought that the affection had been entirely one sided. But then, Shikamaru did ask for his latest mission to take him into Sand country. That wasn't good. Shikamaru was the best strategist Konoha had, and Neji did not like the idea of loosing him to another village because of a girl. No, he had to stop this.
It hit him as he watched the Yamanaka girl come back his way. He could fix two problems at once with this. Pair up Ino with Shikamaru. How did he not notice this before? They could work. Ino was already upset with Temari, perhaps she was jealous? Come to think of it, Shikamaru always seemed to hate Sasuke. Neji thought that it was because of the Uchiha's betrayal, but Shikamaru hadn't liked the Uchiha even before Sasuke left Konoha. It wasn't like he could be jealous of the other ninja's abilities or popularity; Shikamaru would find such things too 'troublesome'. He always seemed most annoyed when Ino threw herself at the Uchiha.
Neji felt like smacking himself in the forehead. He prided himself on noticing things that others didn't, and yet, this escaped him completely. Maybe it was because the two ninja, though talented in their own right, weren't very distinguishable. Sure, Shikamaru was a genius, but he was really lazy, and kept to himself mostly. Ino was talented, but she didn't have the strength of Sakura, nor the association with two of the most well known ninja in Konoha. Perhaps that's why he had overlooked this.
That, or he could just be getting sloppy. He decided he better step up his training, just in case.
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